Names

Talk about names--specifically your name and how it has shaped your life and if you believe it is the best name for you.  If you don't, why not?  And what name would you rather have?


I rather like my names, first, middle and last, and pretty much all for the same reasons. I have always liked conflict, battle and chaos. I love massive thunderstorms where you can literally feel the thunder shaking your bones. Sometimes when there is power and chaos all around you, that is the only time you can truly feel at peace. Maybe I'm weird, but I think it has a lot to do with the love of adventure that most everyone feels at some point in their lives. My favorite poem is Tennyson's "Ulysses," in large part because of its portrayal of that spirit of adventure. Odysseus (The Greek form of the name Ulysses) himself was quite the adventurer, and I always used to envy him for his name, which means "The Great Contender." It just seemed to me to be somewhat glorious, almost as if he could stand against the world, and hold his ground. Anyways, what does this have to do with names? I say I "used" to envy Odysseus his name, because that was before I considered my own names. Let's take my first name. Joshua. All of my siblings and I are named after people from the Christian Bible, and in this case, my namesake is the commander of the Israelite army, and over the course of his leadership, the Israelites are never beaten nor turned back, and always they remain oriented towards God. Under his leadership, the Israelites took the Promised Land. To use modern language, the man was a beast. Now let's take my middle name, Michael. This gets even better, as Michael the Archangel is, in the Catholic tradition, the field commander for the armies of God. It does not get much more glorious than that. Finally, let's look at my last name, Kelly. Joshua and Michael both have their origins in Hebrew, but as any Hebrew blood I might possibly have would come from centuries ago, I do not identify myself as Hebrew at all. Kelly, on the other hand, has distinctively Irish origins, and I have always been proud of my Irish heritage. The original Irish for the name Kelly comes from the name "O Ceallagh." Between Scottish, Irish and English, "Ceallaigh" can mean anything from "Bright-headed" to "One who frequents churches." There are, however, two particular meanings that I like, and those are "Warrior" and "Strife," and they tie into the meanings behind my first and middle names. Conflict, battle, adventure, all of these make me feel like I am a warrior, as if it is in my name and in my blood.


So all three of my names give me several important aspects of my identity, which are strength, and the courage to fight, as well as piety, and a love of God.